lars evidently belonged to the inner portico; they are not quite so large as those of the first temple: the length of this temple is 186 feet 8 inches; its width 74 feet 8 inches. The base of the edifice is entire.

Third Temple.

In returning a little to the west, and at a short distance from the first, one sees the ruins of another temple, which, as the only proof of its ancient splendour, preserves a single pilaster, and this seems to have belonged to the nave. All the rest is destroyed, thrown in the dust, or wholly dispersed. The remains of the basement have given reason to believe that this temple, larger than the second, but not larger than the first, was 225 feet 7 inches in length, 168 feet 5 inches in width.

EXCURSION FROM THE RUINS OF SELINUS TO DEPRANUM.

Between two and three leagues from the ruins of Selinus, we reach a small town, supposed to be the ancient Entella, now Cartelvetrano, which forms the intermediate stage between Selinus and Mazzara.

The town of Mazzara, which gives its name to the valley on the west side of which it is situated, is only a day's journey from Cartelvetrano. If the derivation of a name, joined to local peculiarities, could prove the identity of a place, how can we conceive that, contrary to the authority of Antoninus, Cluverius, and Fazzello himself, and, above all, contrary to all

appearances, a national geographer should here have placed the emporium, or market, of the inhabitants of Selinus, rather than acknowledge the Mazarum of the Latins and Greeks in the Mazzâra of the modern Sicilians, An opinion so singular requires more than mere assertion to support it.

As I have already said, the little town of Mazzara is situated on the southern side of the country. Hannibal possessed himself of this place, which was then called Mazarum, and was protected by a fortress. In the year of Christ 826, it fell into the hands of the Arabs, who enlarged it considerably, and gave it the name which it has itself since given to the rest of the valley, of which it is the chief town.

This town does not contain any remains, if we except, perhaps, three sarcophagi ornaments, with bas-reliefs, of inferior workmanship; some fragments of columns lying in the streets, and the head of a lion in marble, at the door of one of the churches. In a museum belonging, I believe, to the Count Grignani, the only things worthy remark are the head of an old man, and a beautiful vase of alabaster, about two feet four inches in height, and ornamented with bas-reliefs, repre

senting birds and leaves. The town itself is in no manner interesting. A modern geographer assigns to it 8,000 inhabi

tants.

Tower of the Sybil, and Promontory of Lilybæum.

A little beyond the last mentioned town, on the road to Marsalla, we observe the little promontory of Câpo Fêlo, which, according to Fazzello, is the point of Sicily nearest to Africa. A little further on the road, is a tower of modern date in ruins, erected on the borders of the sea, and to which the inhabitants. of the country give the name of the Tower of the Sibyl, in reference to the dwelling of the Sibyl of Cuma, who is said to, have died within the walls of the neighbouring city. At the distance of from seven to eight leagues from the road from Mazzara, we arrive at the celebrated promontory of Lilyboum, which has changed its harmonious and classic appellation, for an obscure and prosaic name given to it from a chapel dedicated to St. Boëo. This promontory forms the western point of the triangle of Sicily. If we are to believe Strabo, it is from this spot that a certain Greek of the the same name could see to number the vessels coming out of the port of Carthage. This fact, repeated by Varro, Solinus, and Pliny, cannot be wholly denied, since it is true, that although the most extreme point of the Cape be at the distance of 40 or 45 leagues from the coast of Africa, it is possible (according to Fazzello), without the aid of a glass, in very clear weather, to distinguish from hence the celebrated Promontory of Mercury, now Cape Blanco, on the opposite shore of Africa. The harbour formed by the northern bend of the promontory of Lilyboum, was one of the largest and most beautiful ports of Sicily, before Charles V. accomplished its destruction in 1538, which the Romans had before attempted, by choaking it up with immense blocks of stone. This harbour is now nothing more than a kind of morass, and a receptacle of stagnant waters. It was here that Hannibal disembarked during his expedition against the town of Selinus, and where, long afterwards, the Phoenicians built a city, to which they gave the name of Lilyboum. The ancient Lilyboeum is now some feet below the soil on which the modern city of Marsalla is built, the name of which, in Arabic, signifies the "harbour of God." It was, for a long time, the last haunt of the Sibyl of Cuma.

Under the church of St. John the Baptist, on the most elevated part of the promontory, are the famous wells, the waters of which had the singular power of communicating a knowledge of future events. This object, the celebrity of which is its only merit, is a kind of cavern hewn under, the abové church,

and in one part of it is an altar dedicated to the patron saint. At a little distance is a fountain, the water of which falls into a circular basin, and then loses itself in the ground.

Wines of Marsalla.

The district around this city is one of the most fertile in the island. Besides valuable salterns, there are also quarries of marble, of a quality which does not yield in hardness and whiteness to the famous marble of Carrara: this country abounds also in corn, in kelp, in oil, and cotton, and, above all, in wines, which are esteemed the best in Sicily. The English, who know how to avail themselves of all advantages, have here, as at Lisbon, Madeira, and Bourdeaux, monopolized all the wines of the country; and, by their mode of preparing them, they make a Marsalla wine, which often passes in London for Madeira of the first quality.

A single English house, of the firm of Woodhouse and Co., have formed this establishment, which has, at the same time, made their own fortunes and those of all the inhabitants and the people whom they employ are the only persons who here obtain a livelihood. The stores of this company resemble a catacomb, and I know not which is most worthy of remark, the immense quantity of tons which they contain, or the order and neatness of the place itself. Many branches of industry, entirely neglected, if not totally unknown in Sicily, offer to the speculative stranger products which are sought at infinite expence in the colonies, or in India. The natural fertility, indeed, of this country, passes all calculation.

"Abundance of acorns," cried the Greeks, when they first entered this country. It is well known that the sugar-cane and the vine grow here without culture, as well as all fruittrees from other parts of the world. Salt, saffron, cinnamon, cotton, kelp, alum, sulphur, gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, saltpetre, dye-wood, and indigo itself; the products, in short, of all countries are found, or may be grown and cultivated in Sicily. To what cause then shall we attribute its present sterility? The Neapolitan ministers can alone solve this enigma,

Drepanum,

We are wholly ignorant of the first founders of a city which the Romans called Drepanum, and which, by corruption, the moderns have named Trâpani. According to Polybius this was a considerable town at the time of the first Punic war; and the same author adds, that it afforded great as sistance to the Romans, who made it a consular city.

At the present day Trâpani is one of the handsomest towns

of Sicily. It is divided into three districts, and its public edifices do not yield in number and elegance to those of the first cities in the island. Churches and convents abound here as in other parts.

At a third part of a league from Trâpani is seen Mount Eryx, so celebrated among the poets and historians. This mountain is a sharp-pointed insulated rock, and is constantly beaten by the waves; and, if we except Etna and the Nebrodis, surpasses all the other mountains of Sicily in height. A long winter covers its summit with snow during a great part of the year, while a constant spring adorns with fruits, flowers, and odoriferous plants, all the lower part of the mountain. The air is exceedingly pure, and many instances of longevity, to the age of a hundred, have occurred in its neighbourhood.

Trapani.

3

The town of Trâpani is, in my mind, one of the pleasantest in Sicily. It possesses some fine edifices, though none very remarkable. Its churches, like others of this country, and, like those of Naples, are overloaded with ornaments and decorations, and appear, at the first glance, like so many shops of brilliants. The salterns, situate at a little distance from the town, are undoubtedly the finest, and, perhaps, the largest known. The tunny-fishery is also a considerable branch of trade here.

JOURNEY FROM DREPANUM TO PALERMO.

The distance which separates Trâpani from Palermo, twentyfive to thirty leagues, in following the most direct route (that of Castellamare, Alcamo, and Montreale) appeared to me the longest and most fatiguing of all which I had travelled; and, besides that this route offers nothing interesting, I had already gone over part of it in my first excursion from the capital of Sicily to Segeste.

Castellamare.

The little town of Castellamare was the only object of novelty to me; and this would have been scarcely worth observation without the tradition which here places the emporium, or port of Segeste, the ruins of which, with its celebrated temple, are situated several miles from hence, in the interior of the country. This wretched port offers nothing deserving notice, except a large tunny-fishery, at some distance from the town; and its trade in hides, and in cod and other salt-fish, contributes not a little to the filthiness of the town. The necessity I was under of passing the night here, was one of the greatest misfortunes of my tour.

RETURN FROM PALERMO TO NAPLES.

Two days afterwards I arrived again at Palermo, where my expectation of the arrival of the vessel in which I had embarked my luggage at Catania, and contrary winds, delayed me during some time. I at length quitted Sicily, and, after a tedious passage, my vessel entered one of the ports of our globe, for by the leave of our geographers, ancient and modern, as well as of the most grave historians, it is at Naples, in fact, that Europe begins and ends.

CONCLUSION.

In February last I left Parthenope and Palermo, wretchedly governed, debased, and miserable. A few months only are passed over, and Parthenope and Palermo are risen up as free and proud as I had seen them abject and degraded.

Menichini, Morelli, Pêpe, Filanghieri, Carascosa, and Campo Chiaro, have appeared, and have rescued their country from oppression; Græcia Magna and Sicily are restored to liberty; the city of the Syrens and that of the Phoenicians have followed the noble example of their brethren in America and Spain; Naples and Palermo have, at length, escaped from political corruption and foreign influence; from the monstrous power of the priests, and an agonizing despotism. The elective spark has passed from Vesuvius to Etna; and the ancient serf of Sicily need not now envy the happy citizen of Naples.

In the course of this work, I have frequently insisted on the probability of a sudden change in a government, the administration of which was become an oppressive and odious burthen'; my wishes then outran events, but now Sicily is free. A new Timoleon bas broken her fetters, and a grateful country ought to engrave on the bust of Menichini:-Extinctori Tyrannidis. One of the last to witness her servitude, I shall not be the last to rejoice in her independence.

Paris, July 25, 1820.